Chapter 6 Under Thoreau's Hat Summary and Analysis

No publisher is interested in Thoreau's writing, but he must make a living. Luckily, once again, Emerson offers him a job taking care of the children while he is off on a lecture tour of England. Thoreau helps Lidian through her bouts of illness, and he helps Bronson Alcott build a laughably weird summer house in the Emerson garden.

He's happy taking care of Emerson's orchard, his children and Lidian, whom he thinks of as an older sister. When little Emerson's child Eddy asks if Thoreau will become his father, Henry tells Emerson it's time to come home. Thoreau moves home with his own parents and begins a job as a surveyor. It's a good job for him because it allows him to get up early and go tromping around the countryside. Every night he...